Fertility Rates and other notes

Today in class we talked about the fertility rates of the world and different countries. Fertility rate means the average number of children born per woman. For a population to remain the same, the total fertility rate must be 2.1. If it's more than 2.1, than the population increases. If it's less than 2.1, than the population decreases. The worldwide TFR is 2.47 which is much higher and that means the population keeps on growing and increasing. The US is 2.06 which is a little bigger but not by much. Nigeria's TFR is probably the highest in the world. It is 5.38. The rate is so high there because women have more children in Nigeria so they will have more kids to have in their family and some will live longer. Children in Nigeria die more often because of malaria and other diseases that kill people at a much younger age. They are more than devastated when any of their children die, but they have more so they can be sure that they will have some kids to look after and love. It sounds crazy and horrible but Nigeria is still a developing country and things like this happen because of the starvation rate and other issues that occur in Nigeria. There are many reasons why people migrate and move to live somewhere that is better for themselves and their lifestyles. There are push and pull forces that occur in places and countries that entice people to migrate where they choose to. Some reasons could be wars, job opportunities or having unemployment. Also, religious or racial issues could create problems and make people migrate because they feel victimized. In the world, there are many rates and categories that are measured in different ways and they will change dramatically in anyway.